Show appreciation to doctors this week

In 1991, President George Bush officially designated March 30 as National Doctor's Day. Since that time we have set aside this day to recognize the men and women who have accepted the special calling of the medical vocation. These professionals serve in a great variety of settings - community clinics, …
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

We all need a fresh start in 2014

The New Year is traditionally a time for reflection and renewal. A shiny new year lies ahead, full of promise.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Keep the holiday spirit all year long

During the holidays, our thoughts naturally turn to giving - not just giving gifts but donating our time and money to charities and community programs.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

What's the plan?

This summer, the nation sweltered in a deadly heat wave.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Preserve affordable health insurance

Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler made national news when he quickly rejected President Obama's call for insurers to extend individual health insurance policies cancelled because of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also referred to as Obamacare.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Regulatory overreach: The new normal

News stories about the government shutdown have shined a spotlight on the issue of government overreach.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Dangerous duels with Americans caught in the middle

After spending a couple of days last week in Washington, D.C., I wonder how Congress and President Obama will settle their differences without hurting the taxpayers or crippling our struggling economy.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

ESA listing could undercut WA economy

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

When national parks burn

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Railroads move America's energy safely and efficiently

For activists intent on stopping all use of fossil fuel, train safety has become their cause du jour. After all, if you can block transport of fossil fuels, you can choke off their use.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

The minimum wage debate

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Different strategy, same results

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Different strategy, same results

There's an old saying, "There's more than one way to catch a cat." It means, if you don't succeed one way, try again using a different strategy.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Is CO2 really the target?

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Is CO2 really the target?

Environmental activists claim they want to reduce production of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. If so, they're going about it in a very strange way.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Piling a lot on BP - but who's next?

In football, players who jump on the ball carrier after he's been tackled get a 15-yard penalty for piling on. But in a courtroom, piling on can get you billions of dollars.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

The magic of Wash. Business Week

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Obamacare in need of a remake

OLYMPIA - Summer is blockbuster movie season, a time when Hollywood releases its biggest productions.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Higher taxes and costs will send jobs out of state

As lawmakers scramble to fund the state budget, some legislators and interest groups are targeting tax incentives designed to attract businesses and create jobs. Meanwhile, much-needed workers' compensation reforms languish in the Legislature.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Who says Congress and the President can't move quickly?

Air travelers received a bit of good news recently: A bill to put air traffic controllers back to work whisked through the House and Senate and flew into the White House for President Obama's signature.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

What happens in Seattle should stay in Seattle

There's an old saying, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." Well, what happens in Seattle should stay in Seattle.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 11 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Washington is missing tourist dollars

When we moved from Montana to Olympia 35 years ago, we saw enticing television and magazine ads for our neighboring states, but none for Washington. Fast forward to 2013 and nothing has changed. It was puzzling then, but even more perplexing today, considering the money and jobs at stake.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Washington slipping in best ranking

The famous baseball pitcher Satchel Paige used to say, "Don't look back - something might be gaining on you." With all due respect to Satchel, Washington should glance over its shoulder because something is gaining on us. Competing states are coming after Washington's economic powerhouse: aerospace.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

Face off: California vs. Texas

California and Texas are like the two biggest kids on the block going toe-to-toe for bragging rights. Who's the biggest? Who's the best?
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

A commitment to our veterans

In the midst of seemingly endless partisan arguments in our nation's capital about how to reduce unemployment, Wal-Mart, America's largest retailer, announced its own plan to deal with the problem.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

New Year, New Regulations

Traditionally, the new year is a time for resolutions and new beginnings. Unfortunately, it is also a time when new regulations kick in.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

Redefining the Bush tax cuts

Everyone is talking about the "fiscal cliff" deadline looming on Dec. 31, when automatic tax increases and spending cuts take effect unless Congress reaches a compromise. Both political camps are in full campaign mode, blaming the other for the lack of progress.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Small change will cost billions

We're seeing a lot of news stories these days about the projected costs of the new federal health care law known as Obamacare. Employers of all sizes, from small companies to warehouse stores and restaurant chains, are warning that compliance costs will force layoffs and price hikes.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Twinkies and the new reality

The end of Hostess Brands Inc. is a lesson for us all.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

Students need solid grounding in math, science

In "the good old days," schools emphasized "reading, writing and arithmetic" taught to the tune of the hickory stick.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

American ingenuity will create jobs

Before the campaign promises of more jobs and renewed prosperity fade away, elected officials need to understand that those promises must be kept.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

What are we doing to our kids?

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

What are we doing to our kids?

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) recently reported that, if Congress fails to avert the "fiscal cliff" by the end of December, six million jobs will disappear over the next two years, sending the unemployment rate soaring to near 12 percent.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Election is about level of government control

When you peel off the layers and get beyond the rhetoric, this year's presidential election is about government control.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Sid Snyder: A good politician, a good man

A few years after Sid Snyder retired as Washington Senate majority leader in 2002, elected leaders from both parties voted to honor by him re-naming the street leading to the state capitol in Olympia "Sid Snyder Avenue."
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Striking it rich in North Dakota

In 1951, if farmer Henry Bakken had told you there was oil under his prairie land in Williston, N.D., you'd have thought he was a few bricks short of a load.As it turns out, he was right.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Make your voice heard: Vote!

GUEST EDITORIAL
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Want to make your voice heard? Vote!

Elections are always important, but the stakes are particularly high this year with our economy stuck in neutral and threatening to slip into reverse.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Outsourcing may be the unintended consequence of Obamacare

When the so-called Affordable Care Act was signed into law, President Obama promised that health care would be affordable and repeatedly assured Americans that if they liked their health plan and their doctor, they could keep them.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

The U.S. Senate could solve a taxation nightmare

Have you ever traveled to another state for your job, perhaps to attend a business meeting or a conference? Most people have. But few people realize that they may owe income taxes in that other state.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Federal Health Care Law: a string of broken promises

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Federal Health Care Law: a string of broken promises

President Obama's national health care law was passed with lofty promises but no details. Few lawmakers read the 2,000+ page bill before voting on it, but supporters promised it would expand access to health care, cut health care costs and - most importantly - allow people to keep their coverage …
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Giving fish a ride helps ensure electricity

Some activists believe there is no such thing as a good dam, that we should destroy all dams to restore fish runs, no questions asked.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Giving fish a ride helps ensure safe passage, electricity

Some activists believe there is no such thing as a good dam, that we should destroy all dams to restore fish runs, no questions asked.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Safe roads important to our quality of life

Any realtor will tell you people looking to buy a home want good schools and safe neighborhoods.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Critical info lacking for new Ecology regulations

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Critical information lacking for new ecology regulations

When the Environmental Protection Agency was formed in 1970, our environmental problems were easy to see: factories belched black smoke, leaded gasoline fouled our air and water and rivers were so polluted they actually caught fire.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Let the power roll on the mighty Columbia!

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Snake River dams should remain in place

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Farms will face challenges in the future

RITZVILLE - I am writing you today about a challenge ahead of farming communities throughout Eastern Washington. The challenge is real and it affects more than those involved in advocacy groups and organizations. Our challenge is apathy and ignorance.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Oregon county looking to a sales tax to bail it out

Oregonians loathe a sales tax about as much as Washingtonians detest an income tax. Knowing that, why would Curry County commissioners put a 3 percent sales tax on the ballot later this year?
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Insurance exchange: paying more for less

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 12 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO

Volunteers show an example for everyone

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS AGO

Export-import bank fuels trade and job growth

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS AGO

GUEST EDITORIAL: Rising gas prices threatens economy

OLYMPIA - What's that old saying? "One step forward, two steps back."
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS AGO

GUEST EDITORIAL: Rising gas prices threaten our economic recovery

What's that old saying? "One step forward, two steps back."
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS AGO

GUEST EDITORIAL: Buying American products creates American jobs

As Congress and state legislatures struggle with the sluggish economy, high unemployment and growing deficits, it may seem that a solution is out of reach.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO

GUEST EDITORIAL: Hasn't changed since 1992 - it's still the economy

In 1992, Bill Clinton's campaign slogan was, "It's the economy, stupid." In 1993, Washington employers modified the slogan to, "It's the economy, don't kill it," and emblazoned it across a huge banner draped from AWB's building near the state's Capitol Campus, where it could be seen by elected officials driving …
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

GUEST EDITORIAL: Washington should provide choices for low-income students

Washington is one of only 10 states that effectively prohibit low-income parents from choosing where their children go to school.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO

GUEST EDITORIAL: Finding stories of hope shine all around us

With a bad economy, political bickering in our nation's capital and daily news coverage of raucous protests here at home, it may seem harder to get into the Christmas spirit this year.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

GUEST EDITORIAL: Big Bend is at risk from state cuts

MOSES LAKE - Officials at Big Bend Community College recognize they have a message problem. The college is receiving recognition in the media for doing great things, but too many people aren't aware of BBCC's dire financial situation.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

GUEST EDITORIAL: Lessons from Canada

Just about the time the Congressional "Super Committee" declared failure, our national debt clock rolled past $15 trillion. Even as the discussions, co-chaired by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., ground to a halt and Congress left the Capitol for Thanksgiving, the debt clock kept ticking.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

GUEST EDITORIAL: The reality of world competition for America's factory owners

In today's dog-eat-dog world, change is constant and accelerating. Other countries are stealing our factories and jobs and are hungry for more. That is the new reality.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

GUEST EDITORIAL: Our state health care exchange should preserve choice

Even as the new health care law heads for the U.S. Supreme Court where it faces an uncertain future, Washington state is moving forward with its $23 million effort to design and implement a health care exchange.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO

GUEST EDITORIAL: While we argue and delay, China just surges ahead

President Obama says he will delay until 2013 a decision about the $13 billion Keystone pipeline, which would carry Canadian oil to Gulf coast refineries.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Americans can learn from Poland's past

People don't appreciate what they have until they lose it. For example, if your water line breaks and you go without showers for a couple of days, you have a whole new appreciation for the water company.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

When Alaska prospers, the Puget Sound prospers

The 1896 Yukon gold rush triggered a boom for Seattle as prospectors flocked to ships bound for Alaska. In 1968, ARCO found black gold - oil - on the state's North Slope around Prudhoe Bay, triggering a boom for Tacoma's port where equipment was loaded onto ships and barges bound …
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Deadbeat Illinois serves as a warning

The dictionary defines "deadbeat" as someone who deliberately avoids paying their bills. It's an unflattering label, but for Illinois, it's now their unofficial new nickname: the Deadbeat State.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Deadbeat Illinois serves as a warning

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO

Nearing the tipping point on minimum wage

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Are we nearing the tipping point on minimum wage?

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Withdrawing new EPA rule is a good start

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO

Boeing's prospects are bright ... for now

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 6 MONTHS AGO

Uncertainty over new taxes keeps cash on the sidelines

At the same time President Obama and Congress were locked in combat over raising the nation's debt ceiling, leaders of state manufacturing associations from across America were meeting right here in Washington.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Americans should get their heads out of the clouds

Americans live in an idealistic world where, no matter what happens, we'll still be able to go home at night and switch on the lights or pull into a filling station and gas up the family SUV.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Will it take another 'Sputnik moment' to rejuvenate America's space program?

Lost in the news over the economic crisis in Europe and the debt ceiling debate in the United States was the unceremonious end of NASA's space shuttle program.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

Broken promises carry unwelcome consequences

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

No perfect solution to our energy needs

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 7 MONTHS AGO

No perfect solution to energy needs

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Taxpayers should cut up Uncle Sam's credit cards

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Today in History for July 14th

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Lawmakers should tread carefully on state health exchange

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Now is the time when it's good to have neighbors with gas

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Fixing the federal health reform law

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Under siege from the unchecked bureaucracy

Partisan wrangling in Congress over the federal deficit and government spending has created gridlock. Not much else is getting done. Into that void have stepped federal bureaucrats who are circumventing Congress to implement sweeping policy changes.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 8 MONTHS AGO

Jobs for college grads growing at a snail's pace

Just as thousands of college graduates are walking across the stage to receive their diplomas, the U.S. Department of Labor announced frail May jobs figures.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

Today in History for June 16th

COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 9 MONTHS AGO

National Health Care battle moving to the states

One of the major provisions in the federal health reform law calls on states to establish health insurance exchanges by 2014. These exchanges were envisioned as virtual "open air markets," managed by new state agencies, where consumers could compare insurance offerings and choose the best health coverage at the best …
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Health care battle moving to the states

One of the major provisions in the federal health reform law calls on states to establish health insurance exchanges by 2014. These exchanges were envisioned as virtual "open air markets," managed by new state agencies, where consumers could compare insurance offerings and choose the best health coverage at the best …
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

The average consumer's gas test

As the price of gas passes $4 on its way to $5 a gallon, the finger-pointing in Washington, D.C. has reached a frenzy as politicians rush to place blame. "Wall Street profiteers!" "Speculators!" "Big Oil!"
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 10 MONTHS AGO

Congress helps small business out

Just over a year ago when President Obama, then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., rammed Obamacare through Congress, no one really knew what was in the 2,700 pages of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA). But small business soon …
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 13 YEARS, 11 MONTHS AGO